Watch Over Me
by raeweis
Summary: It's been over a month since the death of Mobius' hero. The world has moved on, but not one two-tailed fox. When a mysterious figure saves Tails from a close brush with death, Tails makes it his mission to discover the identity of this unknown savior. As things heat up, Tails realizes that not even death can sever the ties of brotherhood.
1. Ch 1: Repercussions

**Sonic and all related characters belong to SEGA.**

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Watch Over Me

Chapter 1: Repercussions

No one had seen it coming. And how could have they? There was no presage, nothing that could've warned of events to come.

It had just been an ordinary day. A blue blur rushed across the horizon, stirring leaves and dust in its wake. The blur was soon followed by a small biplane, in which a young orange fox sat, maneuvering through the sky with much skill and ease. In no time the pair had reached their destination, a huge gray factory made of cold steel, spewing thick black smoke into the sky. The blue blur slowed, revealing its figure to be a humanoid hedgehog. His blue quills and emerald green eyes made it obvious that this was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, renowned hero of Mobius. As the small biplane landed at the blue hedgehog's side, Sonic smiled up at the fox sitting in the cockpit. "Are ya' ready Tails?"

Tails smiled and nodded at his 'older brother' as he climbed out of the plane. "Ready."

Sonic and Tails made their way to the rear of the factory where they found a small grate set into the wall. With a mighty tug, Sonic tore the grating off of the wall. Motioning to Tails to follow, Sonic crawled into the ventilation shaft with Tails close behind him.

They crawled on through the shaft, the only thing leading them forward a feeling deep within Sonic's gut. He could sense it, a chaos emerald, just ahead. Maybe a couple more feet…

"Hnugh! Take that!"

The voice came from below. Sonic immediately stopped, causing Tails to crash into him from behind. Tails was about to complain but Sonic held up his hand for silence. Peering through the vent, Sonic saw a group of egg pawns surrounding a red furred echidna. The echidna's mouth was drawn back in a snarl, revealing sharp canines. Sonic glanced back at Tails. "Looks like ol' knucklehead could use a hand."

Sonic repositioned himself in the small air vent so that he was sitting on his rear instead of kneeling on hands and knees. Sonic smashed his foot into the grating, sending the metal grate crashing to the ground. Sonic dropped down through the opening and immediately launched a homing attack on the unsuspecting robots. When the last robot had been demolished, Tails let himself drop through the opening also, using his namesake to gently lower himself to the ground. Sonic and Tails regarded Knuckles.

"About time you guys showed up." Knuckles said pointedly. Sonic grinned.

"We would've been here sooner, 'cept we decided to stop at the factory gift shop. We would've gotten you a t-shirt, but they didn't have your size."

"Joke all you want. Meanwhile I've been crushing through hordes of badniks!"

"Knuckles, are Eggman's robots getting to be too much for you?" Sonic asked teasingly.

"Never!" Knuckles fumed while Sonic and Tails began to laugh. "Let's just get a move on."

The trio made their way deeper into the factory, keeping to the shadows. Soon they found themselves outside of a huge steel door baring Eggman's insignia. Sonic could sense the chaos energies much stronger now. There was definitely an emerald in that room.

Tails examined the large door. There wasn't a keypad by the door, nor a switch of any sort. "It must open from the other side." Tails concluded. "It doesn't seem too strong, though. Perhaps we could break it down."

"Leave it to me."

Knuckles stepped up to the door as Tails and Sonic both backed away. Taking a deep breath, Knuckles pulled back his fist, and with a grunt, smashed his spiked knuckles into the door. The punch sent painful vibrations up his arm. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

The steel door shattered as if made of thin ice and not thick metal. As the dust from the impact cleared, the trio took cautious steps through the newly made opening and into the room. What they saw took their breath away.

The room was huge. In the center of the room was a large generator that pulsed with a sickening green glow. Wires resembling veins ran up the sides of this generator, suspending it in the middle of a seemingly endless void. The walls of the room seemed to glow with an unnatural red light. A metal catwalk ran around the perimeter of the room with several other paths leading off of it to allow access to the generator.

The trio of Mobians made their way to the edge of the catwalk, glancing over the railing at the deep nothingness below. Tails gulped.

"Come on. The emerald must be inside of there." Sonic made his way towards the generator, his two companions following a little reluctantly.

Upon reaching the generator, Sonic stopped and studied the contraption's cold metal exterior. His eyes lit up when he spotted a containment unit near the top housing the green emerald. Sonic took off at break neck speeds, running up the side of the generator while smirking. _Gravity? What gravity?_

Sonic soon reached the top. He looked down on the fox and the echidna standing below and waved. Knuckles face palmed before shouting, "Quit fooling around and get the emerald!"

Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes, the action not going unnoticed by Knuckles despite the great distance between them. Sonic turned and smashed his fist into the glass of the containment unit. The glass broke easily and Sonic claimed the emerald for his self. To his surprise, no alarms were set off upon the removal of the emerald. _Eggman must be slipping._

Sonic hopped down from the generator and held the emerald out to show Tails and Knuckles. "Happy now?"

"Very." Knuckles turned to leave. "Let's get out of here before something really bad happens-"

"Oh ho ho! What do we have here?" A very rotund man wearing a red jacket that stretched precariously over his wide frame entered the room, riding on some sort of small aircraft that hovered just above the ground.

"Eggman!" Sonic snarled, spinning to face the evil doctor.

Eggman's mouth was stretched wide in a grin. "What a surprise! Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have broken into my base!"

"Obviously." Sonic face palmed. _Yep, he's definitely slipping. _Aloud he said, "We've got the emerald now Eggman, and we've destroyed all your robots! Looks like its game over for you!"

"Oh, I think not, for you haven't destroyed all of my creations yet!" Eggman reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a remote control with a single red button on it. The doctor pressed the button down. "Introducing the Egg-cecutioner!"

_Egg-cecutioner, how creative. _Sonic thought sarcastically.

From the far corner of the room came a large robot made of shiny red metal. It resembled the doctor in many ways, including his very bulky abdomen. It had glowing red eyes and a hideous metallic moustache welded to its 'face'. One hand was a huge spiked club while the other was a canon of sorts. The robot took a threatening step forwards, the pathway shaking violently beneath him. Eggman laughed as he took off out of the room, but not before calling out, "Good luck boys!"

Sonic snarled and took a step towards the robot, instinctively putting himself in between the robot and his little brother. He turned and handed the emerald to Tails for safe keeping, then regarded the robot once again. "Alright, time to smash it up!"

Sonic and Knuckles attacked simultaneously, Sonic launching a deadly spin-dash at the robot's metallic head while Knuckles unleashed a barrage of bone crushing punches to the robot's leg joints. The robot reared back, trying its best to avoid the attacks. When the attacks relented, the robot turned on the offense. It came at the Mobians, firing balls of energy at the animals while swinging its spiked club at them.

Sonic and Knuckles dodged the energy balls with ease, but the club was giving the two some trouble. The club narrowly missed Sonic, instead smashing into the ground just in front of the blue speedster. The ground shook upon impact, the mighty tremors knocking Tails off his feet. The young fox fell to the ground, the emerald tumbling from his grasp and across the narrow pathway. Tails watched in horror as the emerald tumbled towards the edge. "The emerald!"

The robot lifted its club for another attack, taking a step forwards in the direction of its victims. The floor creaked from the robot's weight. It groaned loudly as the robot took another step forwards, before giving way completely. The robot fell, along with many pieces of demolished floor. It tried to grab the floor and pull itself up, but the ground just kept collapsing beneath it, the robot falling into the dark pit of nothingness.

"Quick! We have to get out of here!" The entire pathway was crumbling now. Knuckles grabbed Tails by the arm and began pulling him towards the door, Sonic following close behind.

Tails gasped. "The emerald!"

Sonic turned and spotted the green emerald…

…right as it fell of the edge.

In a blur, Sonic took off, diving off the path after the emerald. Tails let out a strangled cry. "SONIC!"

Knuckles placed Tails on the main catwalk where it was currently safe to stand. He then turned and scanned the area for Sonic. Squinting, Knuckles noticed a small blue shape dangling from one of the wires fastened to the generator. Sonic. And in his hand was the green emerald.

Knuckles sighed in relief. He turned to Tails, who had a steady flow of terrified tears flowed down his cheeks. "It's alright!" he chuckled. "Sonic's fine and he has the emerald!"

Tails gasped, wiping tears away as he came to stand beside the echidna. Sure enough, there was Sonic suspended above the huge pit by a single wire. He grinned up at his companions. "Hey guys! Don't mind me, just hanging around!"

"Sonic!" Tails cried happily, relief replacing the fear on his face.

"Hey buddy! Don't worry; I'll be over in a minute!"

Sonic judged the distance from him to the ledge. He guessed it was around ten feet, give or take. A determined smile crossed his lips. This would be easy.

"Sonic! Try swinging on that wire! When you gain enough momentum, jump!" Knuckles instructed. Sonic nodded before beginning to shift his weight back and forth, causing the wire to sway with his movements.

Soon the Blue Blur had gained a large amount of momentum. Bunching his muscles, Sonic jumped, reaching out towards the ledge. He caught it, but just barely. As he began to slip off, Knuckles reached out and grabbed him by the forearms. Sonic smiled gratefully, handing the green emerald to the Guardian.

Knuckles tossed the emerald back to Tails before beginning to hoist Sonic up onto the catwalk. The floor creaked and groaned, tremors setting the echidna off balance. He stumbled but caught himself just in time; his grip on Sonic had slipped slightly. Grunting, Knuckles began to pull the hedgehog up once again. "Gosh Sonic, what did you eat?"

Sonic smile mischievously and was about to reply with a snide remark when Tails spoke up. "Guys, you might want to hurry up."

Tails' nervous voice was accompanied by the threatening sounds of weakening metal. Knuckles hissed through his teeth as sections of the catwalk began to give way.

"Knuckles…" Tails said, voice full of anxiety.

"I'm going! If this hog here didn't way a ton…"

"Hey! I do not way a ton!"

Tails was pulling at his twin tails nervously, eyes widening in panic. "Knuckles…"

Knuckles ignored the fox and kept pulling, but he felt his grip on Sonic slipping. Gritting his teeth, Knuckles forced his muscles to work, but a new round of tremors settled over the floor, knocking Knuckles to his knees. His grip slipped, Sonic falling from his grasp. "Oh no you don't!"

Knuckles quickly grabbed hold of the blue hedgehog's hands. Sonic glared up at the echidna. "Sheesh, give a guy a heart attack why don't ya."

"KNUCKLES!" Tails' voice was raised tremendously in fear.

"WHA…oh."

Knuckles had stopped midsentence as he realized what had thrown Tails into a panic. The entire complex was crumbling now. Miniature explosions were going off within the generator, shaking the floors and walls until they broke. The shockwaves made it impossible for Knuckles to stay balanced. He was sent sprawling to his stomach, almost losing his grip on Sonic once again.

Sonic, meanwhile, had been uncharacteristically silent as he assessed the situation. With a sigh, he looked up at Knuckles. "Let go."

"What?" Knuckles was appalled. "Are you crazy?"

"Just do it! You have to get Tails out of here!"

"No! I can't do that!"

"Please!" Sonic wasn't one to beg, but he would do it if meant saving his friends. "Just let me go!"

Knuckles could feel the ground beginning to give way beneath him, but he could not let go. "No…"

"Trust me. Let go!" Sonic's voice was forceful, yet strangely calm

Knuckles studied Sonic's face. There was no fear, no doubt shadowing his features. He had made up his mind, and was content with his choice. Behind Knuckles, Tails sobbed. "Sonic! Don't…!"

Sonic hushed Tails. "Its fine, lil' buddy!" he smiled, slightly sad. "I'll always be with you Tails, watching over you."

"Sonic…"

Sonic looked up at Knuckles again. "Do it."

Knuckles closed his eyes and took a deep breath,

…and then let go.

Tails cried as his older brother fell from sight. The fox rushed to the edge, screaming and reaching out for the blue hedgehog, but Knuckles grabbed him and pulled him away. Tails fought against the echidna, still screaming for Sonic as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Knuckles half carried, half drug the wailing fox towards the door of the room just as the floor where they had been standing crumbled. If they had pulled Sonic up, if they had stayed there a moment longer, they would have all fallen.

Tails hadn't stopped crying as he was carried out of the factory, but he did give up fighting. Knuckles felt tears pricking the backs of his eyes but he fought them back.

The pair soon made it out of the factory, but didn't stop running until they were well away from the horrible steel building. Knuckles placed Tails on the ground and collapsed beside the young fox, breathing heavily from the exertion. The duo looked back on the complex just as it was overcome by explosions, engulfing it in flame. They had made it out, but just barely.

A memorial service had been held for the fallen hero a couple of days later. Many had come to pay their respects, with even Shadow and Rouge making a short appearance there. The ceremony had been broadcasted on news channels all across the world, giving everyone the chance to watch. A statue had been put up of Sonic in the middle of the park, a plaque just below his feet displaying his name, but nothing more.

The entire service passed in a haze for Tails. There had been many nameless faces coming and going, offering their sympathies to the young fox. Rouge had made her way over to where Cream had been consoling Amy and laid her hand on the pink hedgehog's shoulder comfortingly. Shadow had come over to where Tails was sitting and patted him lightly on the back in an attempt to comfort the young fox, but coming from him the simple gesture seemed very awkward.

As everyone left, Tails found himself sitting in front of his older brother's tomb stone. He read and reread the epitaph carved deep into the stone: _Sonic the Hedgehog: A brother, a friend, a hero._

Knuckles saw the fox sitting forlornly by the grave. He walked over and gently placed a huge paw on Tails' shoulder. He stood there in silence, with only the sounds of Tails' sobs echoing in the wind.

And now, a month later, that's where they sat. Knuckles tried to gently coax the young fox away from his place at the edge of the grave, but Tails would not budge. Tails had come to this grave every day since the ceremonies, placing flowers on the grave each time.

Knuckles sighed, slightly frustrated with the fox. "Please, Tails. You have to come back. A storm is coming, I can sense it."

The fox didn't move. Knuckles tried again, but consoling young animals was not one of his greatest skills. "Cheer up; Sonic wouldn't want you to be sad."

Tails whimpered, but still didn't move. Knuckles shook his head. "Fine, you asked for it."

Knuckles scooped Tails up in his arms and began to make his way back towards the workshop, despite the fox's protests. They reached the workshop just as the first drops of rain began to fall. The duo was greeted by a very worried Amy.

"Where have you been? Hurry inside, you'll catch a cold out here!" She ushered the two indoors before they could get too wet from the rain.

Tails chose to seclude himself in his room, locking the door behind him. Knuckles sighed as he sat in the kitchen. "We have to do something about Tails."

"Yes, but what should we do?" Amy asked as she placed a steaming cup of tea down in front of the echidna.

"Isn't there anything we can do to, I don't know, distract him?" Knuckles asked, taking a sip from the mug.

"Well, we could go looking for a chaos emerald." Amy suggested. "We haven't done that in a while."

"Yes, yes we could." Knuckles glanced out the window at the rain pouring from the skies. He shivered just looking at it. "But maybe when the weather gets better."

**VvVvVvV**

The sun shone brightly the next day. Knuckles, Amy, and Tails found themselves standing atop a large, grassy slope overlooking a thin stretch of dessert. Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure it's here?"

Tails glanced down at the small device in his hands. "According to the emerald tracker, it should be just behind those rocks."

Tails gestured to a small outcropping of rocks. Amy shrugged. "Only one way to find out!"

Amy marched towards the group of rocks with the two boys following close behind. They skirted the edge of a boulder and looked around, but didn't see an emerald. Knuckles growled, frustrated. "Well, where is it?"

Tails shrugged. "I don't know! It should be right here…"

"Maybe that's because it's in my hand."

The voice came from above. Three heads turned upwards to gaze at the newcomer, an all too familiar ivory bat with sparkling blue eyes. Knuckles' eyes narrowed. "Rouge."

Rouge grinned. "Hi Knuxie, miss me?"

"Give me the emerald, bat girl."

Rouge gasped in mock hurt. "Is that anyway to speak to a lady?"

Knuckles smirked. "Considering I'm not talking to a lady…"

Rouge glared daggers at Knuckles while Amy face palmed. "I feel like we've had this conversation before…"

Rouge and Knuckles had entered a heated argument over the blue emerald in her hand at this point. Amy tried her best to calm the two down, but not even pulling threats with her hammer could stop the two. A new figure appeared a little ways away, arriving unnoticed as the Mobians continued to argue. The figure cleared his throat, but when no one acknowledged him, he switched tactics. One well aimed chaos spear later, everyone had their attention on the newcomer. The black and red hedgehog standing before them glanced at Rouge. "What's going on?"

"I came here to get the emerald, just as planned, when _they," _she gestured to Knuckles, Amy, and Tails, "decided to show up and try and take it."

"I'm the Emerald Guardian!" Knuckles protested. "The emeralds belong with us!"

The bat and echidna began arguing once again. Shadow rubbed the bridge of his nose, his patience wearing very thin. Finally he intervened. "Rouge."

"Yes?"

"Give them the emerald."

Everyone's jaws literally dropped to the ground. Rouge seemed to have forgotten how to speak. "But…what…why…"

"GUN doesn't have any use for the emeralds." Shadow said simply.

Knuckles had a satisfied smirk on his face as Rouge found her words again. "What? What do we tell the Commander?"

"We'll think of something." Shadow replied as he took the emerald from Rouge and gave it to Knuckles. "Let's go."

Rouge, usually so calm and collected, was utterly shocked at her friend's decision. Shadow began to walk away. Eventually, after shooting one last glare at Knuckles, Rouge turned and followed him.

"Huh. Well that's that." Knuckles tossed the emerald into the air and caught it again. "We should get going too. All this emerald hunting has worked up quite an appetite!"

"Is all you think about food?" Amy asked, her tone condescending but slightly amused.

"Maybe…"

Amy groaned and Tails began to laugh. Knuckles and Amy both smiled. It had been a long time since Tails had laughed, or shown any kind of happiness. It seemed they were finally making progress.

**VvVvVvV**

"I just can't believe it! Why did you let them take it? We needed that emerald! What's the commander going to say? What is going on in that spiky head of yours anyway? Are you even listening to me?"

_No. _Rouge's lecture was falling on deaf ears as the ivory bat and ebony hedgehog made their way back the GUN headquarters. Rouge had been yelling at Shadow the entire trip, the dark hedgehog more than once tempted to silence her with a chaos spear…

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Rouge grabbed Shadow's arm and spun him around to face her. "Honestly, what's going on with you? One minute we're dead set on grabbing the chaos emerald the next you're handing it off to children!"

"Rouge, drop it. I have my own reasons for my actions."

Rouge put her hands on her hips. "Are you going to share them with me?"

"No."

Shadow turned and continued to walk as Rouge stared after him. "Where are you going?"

"Places. You report to the Commander. I'll be back in a while."

Rouge was about to protest but stopped herself. It would be useless anyway. He wasn't listening to her. With an angry huff, Rouge spread her wings and took to the sky.

The sky had grown dark by the time Shadow stopped walking. He found himself in a small overgrown forest. The truth was, he hadn't really had a place he needed to go. He only wanted to get away from Rouge, to be alone with his thoughts.

The walk had helped calm the storm of thoughts within his head, but had inevitably gotten him lost. Shadow growled as he tried to discern which way to go. With a defeated sigh, Shadow turned and started to walk in a random direction in hopes of finding his way out of the forest. Lost in more thoughts, Shadow almost didn't hear the weak trembling voice behind him.

"Shadow…"

The Ultimate Lifeform stopped and turned around, scanning the bushes for the source of the voice. He saw a figure lying in the brush. Shadow's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the small shape.

"You…you're…you're dead!"

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**Hey guys! This is just a story idea I decided to try out. I hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a review and tell me if you like/disliked about it or what I did good/bad. Your opinion matters to me!**


	2. Ch 2: Savior

**Disclaimer: All characters (aside from the police officers) belong to SEGA.**

Watch Over Me

Chapter 2: Savior

Down a well-trodden path two Mobians walked side by side, chatting excitedly as the warm spring sun shone brilliantly overhead. One, a pink hedgehog, carried a small weaved basket in the crook of her elbow. The basket swayed gently with her movements.

"It was nice of Vanilla to invite us to a picnic!" Amy piped as she and Tails arrived at the community park in Westopolis. "It's such a nice day out!"

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "I haven't seen Vanilla or Cream in a while. I hope Vanilla brings cheesecake!"

"Nobody makes cheesecake like Vanilla!"

The two Mobians laughed as they came to a stop at the park's entrance. A cobblestone path led away deeper into the park, twisting and winding through trees and flowerbeds. A little ways into the park was a colorful wooden play structure, complete with monkey bars, a swing set, two seesaws, and a spiral slide. A wood bordered sandbox surrounded the play structure, and many benches sat outside of it so parents could watch their children. Not far from the playground was a basketball court on which a few teenaged boys were playing a pickup game of hoops.

The path continued past the noisy bustle of the play structure and led to a quieter, more secluded area of the park. A stone fountain sat at the center of a fork in the path, a regal cherub at its top watching over the park's patrons. A stone sculpture sat to the left of the path; a memorial to the park's founder. Many benches sat around this area, and vendors lined the path's edges.

At the end of the park was a grassy hill that sloped down towards a beautiful meadow filled with flowers of all colors and kinds. At the top of this hill stood an ancient oak tree, its trunk thick and sturdy. This was where they would have their picnic.

Amy and Tails made their way along the path, passing a mime that was performing for a small crowd. They stopped to watch for a moment as the mime began imitating an unsuspecting man talking on his cell phone. Sensing someone behind him, the man turned and jumped, startled at seeing the mime following him. The mime copied his actions perfectly, earning a glare from the man. As the audience erupted into laughter and applause, Amy shuddered slightly. "Creepy."

Tails nodded his agreement, and the two took off once again along the path. After passing the fountain they came to the hill. At the top of the hill sat two Mobian rabbits and a small chao. One of the rabbits, a young tangerine colored girl with chocolate-brown eyes, waved down at them excitedly.

Amy and Tails smiled as they climbed up the hill to where Cream and Vanilla had set up the picnic. Vanilla smiled as Amy and Tails sat down at the edge of the red and white checkered blanket. "I'm glad you two could make it!"

Amy smiled back. "Thanks for inviting us, Vanilla! Everything looks great!"

This was an understatement, in Tails' opinion. Spread out on the blanket was a variety colorful fruits and veggies, including watermelon, carrots, and grapes. A large pitcher of iced lemonade sat next to a stack of paper plates, and in front of that was a plate stacked mile high with a variety of savory sandwiches. Vanilla had also brought assorted deserts, such as brownies, potato chips, and best of all…

"Cheesecake!"

**VvVvVvV**

Afternoon soon gave way to evening. The sky grew dark as the moon replaced the sun as ruler of the sky. The first stars began to peek out of the darkness, and a cold breeze stirred the leaves in the trees. It was a warning of the coming storm; a storm like no other.

Tails, Amy, Vanilla, and Cream had all returned to Vanilla's home. Amy had made plans to have a sleepover with Cream, while Tails decided it was time for him to head home.

"Are you sure you'll be alright out there?" Cream asked, worry lining her soft tone.

"Yeah, I'm stopping by the hardware store to buy parts for a new upgrade I'm planning for the Tornado, and afterwards I'm heading over to the Mobian airport to pick up the Tornado and fly home." Tails explained. He smiled confidently. "With the Tornado, nothing can harm me!"

"Be safe, and call us when you get home so we know you made it alright." Vanilla instructed.

Tails nodded. "Thanks for the picnic, Vanilla. I'll see you guys later." With that said, Tails turned and headed for the door, the others calling 'Goodbye!' as he made his way into the streets.

The workday had ended hours ago, and many of the workers had already gotten home to their families. Because of this, the streets were mostly empty, aside from those heading to work the night-shift. Tails headed left towards his favorite hardware store, _Hardy Joe's_. It was open late, so Tails knew he'd be able to get the parts he needed.

At the next street, Tails took a right. Vanilla's house was not far from _Hardy Joe's_; a few blocks, give or take. Her house was on the edge of the residential area, and was close to the business and commercial sector. It was a convenient place to live, for you never had to go too far to find a grocery store, and rarely had to deal with the 'out of milk' problem.

Tails was just passing a fancy jewelry shop when he heard a noise; the creaking of a door. This noise, although not very loud or significant, seemed rather alien in this quiet environment. Tails stopped in front of the shop and listened. He heard light footsteps within the shop. _An employee closing up shop for the night? No, an employee wouldn't be creeping around this carefully. That means…_

Tails jumped, startled by a large crash that tore him from his thoughts. Peering through the large display window, Tails saw a smashed glass container. A figure clad in a black cloak and dark sunglasses stepped out from the side entrance of the shop, a dingy brown sack in hand. The figure froze as his eyes made contact with Tails'.

The figure dashed down the street, shoes slapping loudly against the concrete sidewalks. Tails took to the air in pursuit of the thief, twin tails propelling him forward at tremendous speeds. Years of keeping pace with Sonic had prepared him for this, and although this stranger was fast, Sonic was much faster.

The figure skidded to a halt and turned sharply down a side alley. Tails followed suit, though slower as he took longer to slow enough to make a safe turn. Tails almost lost the thief as he made another quick turn down an adjoining path, but luckily the figure was not focused on stealth and knocked over a garbage can, accidentally leading Tails right towards him.

Tails heard the sound of sirens blocks away. The thief must have tripped a silent alarm when he smashed the display case, and now the cops had arrived.

Tails had to halt abruptly as the figure skidded to a stop in front of him. A large wall trapped the figure, the bricks reaching far above his head. Tails lowered himself to the ground and took a step towards the stranger. "Turn yourself in to the police. You're caught." Tails tried to sound calm, but inside he was nervous and slightly afraid. This figure, while not as large as the average human, was substantially bigger than Tails.

The figure growled, revealing sharp canines. Tails gulped, unconsciously curling his hands into tight fists.

The figure leapt at Tails, lashing out with the fist that wasn't holding his bag. Tails managed to dodge but the attack set him off-balance and sent him toppling to the side. The figure took this opportunity to dash past Tails, but the fox was up and in pursuit shortly after.

The two-tailed fox easily overcame the thief and dove at him, attempting to tackle and pin him. Tails collided with the solid-bodied stranger, causing him to break pace and stumble, his bag falling to the ground. The figure regained his footing, reaching back and grasping Tails by the shoulders. The stranger bent over and stopped running, the momentum sending Tails forwards over his head. The figure tossed Tails roughly to the ground. Tails landed with a grunt of pain and rolled to avoid a swift kick to the ribs.

Tails scrambled quickly out-of-the-way on hands and knees as the figure continued his attempts to kick him. The cloaked stranger growled as he wound up for another powerful kick. This one connected with its target, catching Tails hard in the shoulder and sending him crashing backwards.

In the dim lighting of the alley Tails saw the figure reach into one of the many pockets of his coat and pulled out a small object. With a click the object opened, revealing a thin blade that glinted in the light cast by the moon. The stranger's lips spread into a wicked grin as Tails' eyes widened in fear.

The thief took slow, menacing steps towards the frightened kit, savoring his pursuer's fear as if it were a fine meal. The figure pulled his arm back, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the fox who had dared attack him. Tails tightly clamped his eyes shut, as if the very act would make his attacker disappear. His body tensed in fear and anticipation of the assault.

When nothing happened, Tails slowly opened his eyes to find his attacker sprawled on the ground, knife falling from his hand. A new figure now stood defensively between Tails and the thief, his fists still raised from his attack.

The new figure donned a dark cloak that concealed all of his features. Tails could tell by his size that he was Mobian; either that or a very young child, but Tails doubted a child could deliver an attack that powerful.

"Grave mistake." The thief hissed darkly as he slowly rose to his feet. The newcomer made no reply, nor another move to attack.

The figure spied his knife laying a few paces in front of him. Cautiously he took a step towards it, his eyes never leaving Tails' savior. Another step, and soon the thief was standing directly over top of the dropped weapon. Slowly he reached down to pick it up.

The newcomer dashed forward, colliding forcefully with the thief. The thief flew backwards, but not before snatching his knife from the dirt. Grasping the newcomer's cloak, the thief plunged his knife towards the other's chest, but the second figure managed to dodge just in time. He swung his fist, but the thief blocked the attack easily and countered with one of his own.

The thief swung his knife, aiming for his opponent's neck. The newcomer dodged the knife by a hair, the weapon instead slicing harmlessly through his cloak. The thief growled in frustration and swung with his opposite fist, but the newcomer blocked his attack.

Before the newcomer could attack, the thief did a quick backflip to put distance between him and his opponent. As soon as his feet made contact with the ground he charged, knife drawn back and his lips spread into a snarl. With a feral battle call he swung his arm, releasing the knife from his grasp. The weapon flew at great speeds towards the newcomer, who watched it with little interest. At the last possible moment the figure sidestepped the attack, the knife missing and instead lodging deep into a wall to the newcomer's rear.

The thief, now without a weapon and a hope of winning this battle, turned and snatched up his sack before high tailing it out of the alleyway. Tails' savior made a move to pursue, but decided against it. Instead he turned back to check on the small, two-tailed fox.

Throughout the battle, Tails hadn't moved an inch. He was too shocked to do so. When he felt his rescuer's gaze on him, he slowly climbed to his feet. Tails tried to identify the newcomer in the dim light, but the hood of his cloak bathed his features in shadow and made it impossible to discern who it was.

Tails swallowed the lump in his throat and was about to thank his savior when the figure abruptly turned and took off down the alley. While he turned, a small gleaming object fell from his pocket and landed on the dusty ground. Not noticing the loss of this object, the figure disappeared down the alley.

Tails grabbed the object and took off after the fleeing figure. "Wait! Mister, you dropped this!"

The figure didn't stop, or even turn to look back at the fox kit. Tails chased after the figure, but he was fast, and soon Tails lost him within the network of alleys.

"Wait!" Tails called out again, coming to a stop at the edge of the street. Tails bent over, panting as he tried to regain his breath after the exertion. He glanced both ways down the street, but didn't see any sign of his rescuer. "Where are you?" Tails mumbled to himself. "_Who_ are you?"

**VvVvVvV**

Police swarmed the streets just outside of the jewelry store. Lights flashed and sirens blared as police went about their work, setting up a perimeter around the area and investigating the break-in. Reporters and news crews hovered around the scene fighting for the best shot, but police tape and barricades kept them at bay. Two Mobians pushed through the throng as they made their way towards the crime scene. Upon reaching the barricade an officer with graying hair and tired eyes stopped them. He had obviously been an officer for many years, and was due to retire soon.

"Authorized personnel only." The officer informed the Mobians.

One of the Mobians, an ivory bat, smiled at the officer. "No problem." She pulled a badge from one of the pockets of her black jumpsuit and showed it to the man. "Agent Rouge, GUN." She gestured to the dark hedgehog beside her. "This is Agent Shadow. We're here to investigate a stolen gem."

The officer stepped aside. "Right this way. Constable Johnson will fill you in on what we know so far."

Rouge nodded and she and Shadow ducked under the yellow tape to enter the crime scene. Small numbered indicators sat here and there, marking where important evidence lay. A few cops took photos of the various areas of the crime scene, while others where jotting down information into small notepads. One of the cops was talking to the jewelry store's owner, while others were interviewing witnesses.

This type of detective work was strange to the Mobian duo. They did not usually deal with small thefts such as this, but instead more international affairs. Despite this, Rouge was more than willing to aid the police in the investigation, seeing as this was a jewelry store she visited often. Shadow wasn't as keen.

_Shadow and Rouge sat in large officer chairs facing a blank projector screen. A long wooden table sat in front of them, a folder and other miscellaneous papers scattered across its shiny surface. An elderly man dressed in an army uniform entered the room, coming to stand at the head of the table. He had greying hair and two mismatched eyes. _

_ "Agents." He addressed the two Mobians. "Not long ago we received reports of a burglary at Bert's Jewel Emporium."_

_ "A burglary?" Shadow wondered aloud. "Commander, have we been demoted?"_

_ "Pardon?" the Commander asked._

_ "You don't usually send Rouge and I on missions of this degree." The dark hedgehog explained. "We're the top agents here, reserved for the more dangerous missions."_

_ "Yes, but the stolen item, I believe…" the Commander started, "is of great interest to you both."_

_ Rouge's eyes lit up when the Commander held up a picture of a shining violet gem. "A Chaos Emerald?"_

_ Afterwards, Shadow agreed to the mission._

A young brown-haired cop greeted the two GUN agents. "I'm Constable Johnson. Witnesses say the burglary took place earlier this evening, at around nine o'clock." The officer continued to fill them in as they approached the building. "Alarms went off at nine oh five, and the first cops arrived minutes later. When they got here, the thief was gone."

Shadow nodded as he took in this information. Scanning the building he saw a busted lock on the front door, and through the display window he saw the smashed case that would have housed the Chaos Emerald.

"Did anyone get a good look at the thief?" Rouge asked the officer.

"Witnesses say he wore a long black cloak and sunglasses. They couldn't name an exact species, but eyewitnesses said that based on his height he must've been Mobian."

"So a Mobian broke in, smashed the display case, took the emerald, and fled the scene." Shadow summarized based on his observations.

"Yes," Johnson nodded, "but the perp may have taken more if he hadn't been caught."

"Based on the object he did take," Shadow shook his head, "that was the only object he came for."

"A powerful gem isn't it?" the cop mused.

"Yes, and it should have been locked away safely, not out on display for anyone to take." Shadow growled.

"If I remember right," Johnson shot back, "the emeralds were locked away in a military base and they were still easily stolen."

"That doesn't mean…"

"You said he was caught," Rouge interrupted, cocking her head at the officer. "by who?"

"Not long after the police arrived a fox came up and told the officers he saw the guy break in, and took off after him." He said, shooting a quick glare at Shadow. "He claimed to have chased this guy down through alley after alley, but lost him soon after." Johnson laughed and shook his head. "Fox was just a kid too."

"A fox you say?" Rouge questioned, ignoring the glare Shadow was shooting her. "Did he happen to have two tails?"

Johnson nodded. "Strangest thing I've ever seen."

Rouge nodded and looked at Shadow. "Tails." they said in unision.

Turning back to the Constable, Rouge asked, "Is he still here?"

"No, the officers took down his story and info, then let the kid go. Said he looked exhausted, and spooked too."

"Could the thief have threatened him?" Rouge wondered.

"Possibly." Johnson rubbed his jaw. "It would explain how the thief got away so easily."

Rouge stepped into the building, making an effort to avoid the glass shards that littered the floor. "Did surveillance cameras catch the perp?" she asked, spying a shiny black sphere in the corner of the store, close to the ceiling.

"Yes, but the thief made sure to keep out of…"

Johnson trailed off as a commotion rose from outside of the building, momentarily distracting him. "What the…?"

The three investigators exited the building and watched as three Mobians pushed through the crowd of reporters. Many of the reporter bombarded them with questions as they passed, and the officer had to keep the reporters from breaking down the barricade.

The Mobians ducked under the yellow tape before assessing the scene before them. One of them, seemingly the group's leader, announced loudly to the investigators, "Have no fear, the Chaotix are here!"

* * *

**Sorry for the extremely long wait. I was trying to finish another story, and I also had to figure out some stuff with the plot of this story. I had a beginning and an ending, but I didn't know how to get from point A to point C. The plot was changed slightly, but I hope you still like the story. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. **


	3. Ch 3: Thief of the Night

**DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SEGA.**

Watch Over Me

Chapter 3: Thief of the Night

Vector sighed as he shuffled through the stack of papers for what must've been the millionth time. He scanned the text for any clues, and upon finding none he tossed the papers onto his cheap wooden desk, sighing irritably and rubbing his forehead. "Espio," he called to his purple companion, "have you found anything yet?"

The chameleon looked up from the folder he had been sifting through and shook his head. "Nothing. Whoever did this made sure to leave no thread of evidence behind, and with only one witness statement, we don't have a lot to work with."

Vector sighed again and closed his eyes tiredly. He and the rest of the Chaotix had worked feverishly all day long sorting through the case files and scouring images of the crime scene. Many long, agonizing hours and steaming mugs of coffee later, they were no closer to catching the jewelry store thief.

"Ooh Vector! I found something!" Charmy Bee fluttered breathlessly into the small room, knocking over a cardboard box and sending papers scattering every which way. Any other day, Vector would have chided the young bee for his carelessness, but the crocodile was much too tired from the long day of work.

"What did you find? A clue? Do you have a lead?" Vector asked, excitement and hope growing in his chest.

"Nope!" Just like that, Vector's heart fell. Charmy continued, "I found my old marshmallow shooter!"

Vector and Espio sweat dropped. What did they expect? The energetic bee could barely hold still for more than five seconds at a time, how could he have managed to find anything of use?

Vector knew the morale was low in the room after that disappointing statement. Being the great leader he thought he was, he knew he had to rally his troops and bring justice to the clever thief that had evaded them for a whole twenty-five hours and eleven minutes. This in mind, Vector bounded up from his padded office chair and thrust his finger to the sky. "So what if we haven't found anything yet? So what if we wasted an entire day searching for clues that don't exist? We are the Chaotix! Nothing can stop us! No criminal can evade us! Now get searching, and don't stop until you've found something!"

With that said, Vector made to leave the room. Espio glared at him. "And what are you going to do?"

"I," Vector announced, "am going to make a phone call."

"To who?" Charmy asked. "Are you gonna call your girlfriend, Vani-"

"Sheisnotmygirlfriend!" Vector hissed, his cheeks reddening. "And no, I am not going to call her. I was going to call Shadow and Rouge to see if they've found anything yet."

"In that case, it's a good thing you aren't calling your girlfriend." Espio chuckled slightly. Vector's face paled and he slowly exited the room.

Charmy cocked his head to the side. "I don't get it."

"As you shouldn't." Espio set down the folder he had held and opened up the next one on the pile. He began reading but was soon interrupted by a white marshmallow crashing into his forehead. "What?" Soon another marshmallow hit him in the face, and another, and another.

Espio turned and glared at the small marshmallow gun wielding bee. "Would you stop that?" he growled.

Charmy giggled gleefully, though the sound seemed evil to Espio's ears. "Nope!"

**VvVvVvV**

Vector grabbed the phone off the hook and pressed the desired numbers on the number pad. He held the phone up to his ear and waited as the line rang. After the third ring the phone was picked up and an annoyed "_What do you want?"_ met the green crocodile's ears.

"Hey Shadow! It's great to talk to you too! How's the family?" Vector said, lacing his voice with sarcasm.

Vector heard a low growl on the other end of the line. "_What's so important that you had to call this late at night?_"

"The Chaotix and I haven't found squat when it comes to clues, and we were hoping we could get together with you and Rouge to go over case notes and see if you could find anything we missed."

_"Couldn't this wait until morning?"_

"Evil never sleeps!" Vector declared.

Shadow was silent for a moment, and then sighed. _"When do you want to meet?"_

"We'll meet at noon, at that fancy new Thai restaurant." Vector decided.

_"Fine. Now let me get some sleep." _

The line went dead. Vector hung the phone up, mumbling something about rude hedgehogs, and then retreated to the main room to inform his partners of the meeting.

* * *

The next day dawned hot and humid. Clouds covered the sky, signalling the coming of rain. A slight breeze stirred the trees, but it did nothing to lessen the stifling heat.

Shadow grabbed a bottle of water from the apartment's mini fridge and unscrewed the cap. He chugged down the cool liquid, sighing and wiping stray droplets from his lips. The dark hedgehog discarded the empty plastic bottle before grabbing two new ones and closing the fridge door.

Shadow left the kitchen and entered the adjoining living room. In the middle of the room sat a blue hedgehog surrounded by simple electric fans. Sonic had his had his head back and his eyes closed as the fans gently whipped his quills back and forth.

Shadow had been surprised when he first found the hedgehog, battered and bruised, in the forest just outside of Central City. He had taken the blue hedgehog back to his apartment on Sonic's wish to remain unseen. A good meal and a hot shower later, Sonic had been mostly back to his old self, though still a little sore.

Sonic hadn't been too sure how he survived the fall. He thought that there had been a rope he managed to grab on to, or maybe a platform he had landed on that shortened the length of his fall. The blue hedgehog claimed that his memory was still a little fuzzy, possibly the result of a concussion.

Sonic never revealed what he had done during the month since he had been presumed 'dead', and Shadow never asked. Yet. Sonic's silence had made him suspicious, but he pushed the feelings aside. If Sonic wanted to tell him, he would. And if he didn't, then Shadow didn't need to know. That didn't stop the dark hedgehog from being curious.

Shadow put the two bottles of water in a backpack and shook his head at Sonic. "You better have money to pay for the electrical bill."

Sonic laughed. "You're just jealous that I thought of the fans first."

"Don't worry Sonic; I'll never be jealous of you." Shadow said as he tucked a manila folder into the backpack. Shadow glanced at the drawer of the end table where he kept a simple hand gun, considering bringing it along with him. He shook his head, deciding it wouldn't be needed, and grabbed his cell phone from the table.

"Ouch, Stripes, that hurt." Sonic said sarcastically.

Shadow cocked an eyebrow at Sonic. "'Stripes'?"

Sonic opened one eye and looked at the dark hedgehog. "Would you rather I call you 'Faker'?"

"I'd rather you call me 'Shadow'." Shadow said as he zipped up the backpack.

"Like that's gonna happen." Sonic opened both eyes, noticing the backpack. "Where ya going?"

"Rouge and I are meeting the Chaotix to go over the case." Shadow slung the backpack over one shoulder.

"Can I help?" Sonic asked eagerly.

Shadow shook his head. "I thought you said you wanted to remain unseen for now."

"Yeah, sorry." Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Hero's instinct, I guess."

Shadow was silent for a moment. "Are you ever going to tell them you're alive?"

"Eventually, yeah… when I'm ready." Sonic stared at the floor. "Now's not the time, especially with the thief running loose. We don't need the 'ghost of Sonic the Hedgehog' to plunge people into a greater panic."

Shadow nodded. "I'll be back in an hour or two. Don't leave the apartment. Not even for a minute."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever mom." Sonic closed his eyes and laid down, his arms crossed behind his head.

Shadow glared at Sonic. "I mean it."

Sonic waved a hand in the air. "Whatever. Better hurry; don't wanna keep your girlfriend waiting."

"She isn't my girlfriend."

Sonic smirked. "Sure she isn't."

* * *

Sonic heard Shadow growl something and the sound of a door being opened and closed. Sonic sighed as the breeze from the fans cooled his body. His foot began tapping as he relaxed, and soon Sonic couldn't stand being still any longer.

Sonic stood and shut off the fans, and then began pacing back and forth. He didn't like the slow pace. He wanted to go fast! He wanted to feel the wind in his quills! But he couldn't go for a run without revealing his identity. Super-fast hedgehogs weren't exactly commonplace around here.

Sonic sighed, pondering what he should do. An idea came to him. Shadow hadn't taken his keys with him, so that meant he didn't take his motorcycle. A grin spread across Sonic's face.

The blue hedgehog dashed quickly into the main bedroom and threw open the closet. The closet was nearly empty, only a few articles hung from the hangers or littered the racks. Sonic scanned over the sparse selection before shrugging and grabbed a random jacket from the hooks.

Sonic slipped the jacket on- a black leather jacket, Sonic realized- and kicked off his shoes. He grabbed a pair of shoes that looked to be a slight variation of Shadow's. They had the same cuff, and the same red trimming around the bottom of the shoe. Above that trimming was a thin layer of white, and then a thicker layer of black. Instead of being simple slip on shoes, these shoes had two laces across the top. There also didn't appear to be rockets on the bottoms.

Sonic quickly laced the shoes on his feet, and then reached up to grab a plain black motorcycle helmet. He pulled the helmet onto his head and buckled the chin strap.

Sonic quickly checked himself in the mirror. His blue fur wasn't completely covered, but it wouldn't matter. Blue wasn't an uncommon color when it came to Mobians. Other than his fur, Sonic decided that he was in a good enough disguise to go out. A wide grin plastered to his face, Sonic exited the bedroom and grabbed the bike's keys from a small table next to the door. He also grabbed the spare set of keys to the apartment, before exiting into the hall.

Sonic quickly jogged down the stairs to the parking garage where he knew Shadow kept his motorcycle. After scouring over rows of parked cars, Sonic finally found the black and silver bike. Sonic quickly hopped on and kicked the kickstand up.

His eyes scanned the bike. _How hard could this be? _The blue hedgehog inserted the key into the ignition and turned it. He shifted the bike into neutral so that it didn't go roaring off unexpectedly. Sonic noticed a simple button that read 'start'. He shrugged. _That sounds fairly self-explanatory. _ Sonic pulled in the clutch and pressed the start button.

The engine roared to life, making Sonic grin. _Too easy! _He shifted the bike into gear and let up on the clutch. The bike jerked forward, and Sonic quickly pulled on the lever he figured was the brake. The motorcycle stopped suddenly, jerking Sonic forward with its momentum. _A little smoother this time…_

Sonic slowly released the brake and the bike began to roll forwards. Sonic lifted both feet from the ground and placed them in their designated spots. One of his feet hit another lever, causing the bike to jerk to a stop again. _Whoops, that must be the back brake. _Sonic removed his foot from the lever and the bike rolled forward again.

Sonic exited the parking garage and quickly slipped the visor of the helmet down over his eyes. He shifted the bike into a higher gear and twisted the throttle, causing the bike to pick up speed. Sonic grinned from beneath his helmet. The motorcycle didn't go anywhere near as fast as he could, but man was it fun!

He drove down the streets, gently swerving within his lane to get a feel for the motorcycle. At an intersection he turned left, waving to a group of kids as he passed. They all gave him funny looks, but Sonic didn't care. It felt good to be out and about in the city, not a care in the world.

The sound of a horn honking brought Sonic out of his reverie. He quickly swerved back into his own lane, missing the oncoming traffic by mere seconds. The driver of a red pickup truck flipped him off, and Sonic smiled sheepishly. _Pay a little more attention to the road. You don't want to become a hedgehog pancake!_

The light ahead turned red. Sonic shifted the bike into a lower gear and slowly pulled on the front brake with his hand, and pressed the back break with his foot. The motorcycle came to a gentle stop before the intersection, and Sonic set a foot down to help keep balance.

A simple red convertible pulled up beside him. The driver was a teenaged female fox with flowing reddish-brown hair, held back by an orange ribbon. Sonic flipped his visor up and winked at her. She smiled back and waved.

As the light turned green, Sonic flipped his visor back down, released the brakes and took off once again. He shifted the bike into a higher gear and sped up, leaving the convertible far behind.

Deciding he had had enough of the petty city speed limits, Sonic turned the bike towards one of the city's many exits. The road he chose took him far from the bustle of the city and onto a simple highway. Sonic shifted the bike to a higher gear and took off, roaring like a madman down the smooth blacktop.

Sonic whooped in joy. It was good to feel the wind buffeting his body again. There weren't many other vehicles on the road, so Sonic deemed it safe enough to increase his speed. He knew he must have been going much faster than the allotted limit, but in that moment he didn't care. It was only illegal if you got caught, right?

Sonic glanced down at the gas gauge. Less than half a tank left. _Darn it Shadow, why didn't you fill it up? _

Sonic sighed. He'd have to head back, or else risk running out in the middle of nowhere. He knew that half a tank could get him far, but Sonic didn't want to bring the bike back with no gas. Shadow would know what Sonic had done, and any chance of the blue hedgehog going joy riding again would be taken away.

The blue hedgehog shifted to a lower gear and slowed the bike down. After checking the traffic (he may have been crazy, but he didn't have a death wish), Sonic pulled a U-turn and headed back to the city.

**VvVvVvV**

Shadow pushed open the glass door and entered the small restaurant. The slight buzz of chatter filled the air, and delectable aromas of various foods wafted from the kitchen in the back. The interior was warm and comfortable, inviting all to enter. Most of the walls were painted a darker gray color, with a yellow accent wall in front of where Shadow guessed the kitchen was, judging by the number of waiters entering and exiting behind it. Many traditional paintings hung on the walls, and various statues sat on stone pedestals throughout the small room.

The entire front wall was made of glass, allowing sunlight to pour in and set the accent wall aflame with color. Low set tables sat in front of these windows on either side of the door. The tables were surrounded by vibrant orange cushions, allowing the guests an authentic Thai experience. There were other tables like this throughout the restaurant, as well as normal tables for the less adventurous customers. Calming music soothed the various diners, making the experience a relaxing one.

Near the entrance of the restaurant was the front desk. It had a dark stained wooden top, while its front was made of various light and dark colored rocks pieced together to create a tasteful mosaic. A young leopard girl stood behind the desk, waiting to escort diners to their seats. Also at the desk stood an ivory furred bat.

Rouge wore her usual black jumpsuit. Her eyes were lined with the same blue eye shadow, and her lips were a glossy rose color. Rouge looked the same as always, except for her hair. The bat's ivory locks were curled, and seemed a lot… poofier than usual.

Shadow walked up to his long-time friend and raised an eyebrow. "…nice hair?" he offered.

Rouge glared at him. "Shut it." She tried to straighten one of the curls, but it only bounced back up to a sleek coil. "It's this humidity. It's wrecking my hair."

Shadow shook his head as Rouge tried again in vain to straighten her hair. "At least it's air conditioned in here."

"Yes, finally a break from the heat." Rouge glanced around the restaurant. "The Chaotix are already here. They got a separate area, more secluded so we don't have to worry about eavesdroppers."

Shadow nodded and followed the bat through. They entered a room with three dark gray walls, and a fourth wall made of small stones pieced together in a similar fashion to that of the front desk. It was slightly darker in this room, and the lack of sunlight made it cooler than the rest of the restaurant.

Only a few tables sat in this area. They were the more authentic ones, low to the ground and cushions instead of conventional chairs. Shadow and Rouge both sat at the table at which the three members of the Chaotix currently sat.

"About time you guys showed up!" Vector proclaimed.

"You know us." Rouge smiled. "Always fashionably late."

Vector laughed. "I can tell. It must have taken _forever _to get your hair like that."

If looks could kill, Vector would be six feet under.

The green crocodile coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, anyway…" Vector set a plain folder on the table and slid it to Rouge. She picked it up and leafed through it. "This is all that we've come up with. It's not a lot, but the thief didn't give us a lot to work with."

"Hmm…" Rouge set the folder down as Shadow handed her another. "Thief breaks in at nine o'clock; alarms go off at nine o'five. Five minutes to grab the gem."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Why take so long?"

Rouge flipped to another page in the folder. "According to this, the store owner claimed to have had a state-of-the-art security system protecting the emerald. The case was locked with a thumb-scanner, and was also weight sensitive. Once the Chaos Emerald was removed, the alarms would go off."

"So the thief broke in, somehow bypassed the thumb-scanner, took the emerald, and left." Vector concluded. Espio shook his head.

"The case was smashed, and the lock was still intact." The chameleon said. "Our suspect must not have been very good with locks. When he saw that the thumb-scanner was there…"

"…he smashed the case and bolted." Rouge finished.

"Smashing the case wouldn't have taken five minutes." Shadow stated. "He must have attempted the lock."

"But he couldn't get it, and smashed the case instead." Vector nodded. "Ok, so we know what happened. Now what?"

"We don't have much for hard evidence, so we'll have to make inferences for now." Espio said.

A group of waiters came out and placed various rice dishes on the table. Charmy licked his lips and immediately dug in. Vector grabbed the bee. "Charmy! Use your manners!"

Charmy laughed sheepishly. "Heh, sorry."

Rouge shook her head, an amused grin on her face. "Kids will be kids."

Charmy grinned and Espio cleared his throat. "Back to the case… we know that the thief must have had time to plan this heist carefully. He made sure to stay in the surveillance cameras' blind spots, as well as keep his face covered when he had to cross their paths."

"He may be a local." Shadow spoke up. "Someone who's had time to scout out the best way to sneak in and out of the store. He obviously knows the area well."

Rouge nodded and jotted notes down in a small notebook. "Right, we can start investigating families living within a five block radius of the store."

"Why families?" Vector asked. "Anyone who needs a Chaos Emerald doesn't strike me as the type to have a family."

"Chaos Emeralds are very powerful, and if sold on the right market," Rouge stated, "they are very valuable."

"If he's having money problems, and can't support his family…" Vector started.

"…he could sell the emerald and make a fortune." Espio finished.

Rouge nodded. "We can cross reference our list of families in the area with families having financial problems." She wrote more down in the notebook.

"It's still possible the emerald is being used in an attempt to gain more power." Shadow pointed out. "We can't only narrow this down to a man with financial problems."

Vector nodded in agreement. "We'll have to be careful with this one." The crocodile said. "This thief has broken into a highly secure jewelry store, stolen a Chaos Emerald, and attacked Tails. We have no idea what he's capable of."

"Actually Vector, we know exactly what he's capable of." Charmy took a mouthful of his rice, chewing quickly and swallowing before continuing. "We know he's capable of breaking into jewelry stores, stealing Chaos Emeralds, and attacking Tails."

"I know that!" Vector shouted. "What I meant was that we don't know what _else _he's capable of doing."

Charmy crossed his arms over his chest. "Then you should have said that."

Vector was about to reply when Espio interrupted. "Speaking of Tails, what did the kid say about his encounter with the thief?"

"Nothing that we didn't already know." Rouge pulled a paper out of the folder. "Male, Mobian, fairly fast, and also slightly skilled in hand-to-hand combat."

"So basically…" Vector prompted.

"We know nothing useful." Charmy deadpanned.

"Not necessarily." Espio swallowed a mouthful of rice. "These small clues may help us discover the identity of the thief."

"And when we find out the _who_," Rouge continued, "We can found out the _why."_

**VvVvVvV**

Tails sat idly in his workshop, surrounded by bits and pieces of various machines. He had attempted to build a new upgrade for the Tornado, but he couldn't focus. His mind always wandered back to the previous night, to the mysterious figure that had saved him. _Who are you?_

Tails opened one of the many drawers of his work desk and pulled out a small rag. He unwrapped the rag and pulled out the odd object the mysterious man had dropped. It was a strange blue shape, alien to the young fox. The shape seemed to be made of a thick glass, and when held up in the light it glowed divinely.

The young fox examined the object closely. This was his only link to his secretive savior, and Tails wasn't going to let a good clue go to waste. Maybe he'd take it to a jeweler to see what it was made of, or maybe Rouge would know…

A small beeping sound came from one of Tails' many computers in the workshop. Amy's voice drifted into the room, "Tails?"

"I've got it!" Tails slipped out of his chair and bounded across the workshop to the computer. The screen read, _Accept Video Call? _Tails clicked 'yes' and soon came face-to-moustache with an all too familiar foe.

"Eggman!" Tails shouted. "What do you want?"

Tails was very surprised, and not at all thrilled, to be contacted by the evil doctor. Ever since the incident one month ago, Eggman had gone silent. His attempts at world domination had ceased, as if his desire for ruling the planet had died alongside his furry blue nemesis.

"Tails, a pleasure to speak with you again." Eggman spat sarcastically. "How's that pile of scrap metal you call a plane?"

"Get to the point." Tails growled. He wasn't happy that Eggman had interrupted his investigating, and he wanted to get back to the blue object as soon as possible.

"Someone just broke into my base outside of the city." Eggman announced. "My robots were unable to stop them, and they stole a very valuable item of mine."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Eggman glared at Tails from behind his goggles. "I figured you and your pesky friends may have had a hand in this."

Tails' fists clenched. "We've been here all day. There's no way any of us could have stolen your things!"

"Hmm…" Eggman stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "Perhaps… Tails, you may want to call those GUN geeks. I have a feeling they will be very interested in this matter."

**VvVvVvV**

Rouge sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. They had been at the restaurant for over an hour and still hadn't made much headway in the case. She stroked her hair. At least the restaurant was air-conditioned.

"Maybe an old clown stole it to bring attention to his circus." Charmy suggested.

Shadow groaned and rested his head on the table. Charmy had been offering unhelpful ideas for the majority of the hour spent there, and each one had been crazier than the last.

Vector closed his eyes. "Charmy, why would a clown use a Chaos Emerald to bring attention to his circus?"

"It's all part of his evil plot. Clowns will one day rule the planet!"

Espio took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. "Charmy…"

"Oh! Oh! I know!" Charmy raised his fork to sky. "He was an old sailor who built a boat that runs on Chaos Energy, so he needed an emerald to power it! Does that sound right?"

Vector swatted Charmy's hand away. "That's my stir-fry!"

"I thought it was mine!"

"Does it look like yours?"

"Well, if you close one eye, and squint the other…"

"Focus Charmy!"

A phone rang. Rouge reached into one of the pockets of her jumpsuit and pulled out a simple phone. She flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Hello? ...Alright...Ok, we're on our way."

Rouge hung up. "That was Tails. He said Eggman called, and said one of his bases was broken into."

"Why does this concern us?" Shadow asked, lifting his head from the table.

"Eggman's got a hunch that this feat may have been committed by our thief." The white bat said, gathering her papers and standing up.

Shadow nodded and stood up as well, grabbing his backpack and handing it to Rouge. Rouge slipped the folders into the backpack and handed it back to her partner, who slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go."

As the two GUN agents exited the restaurant, the Chaotix all clambered to their feet. "Let's go boys! I have a feeling this case is about to get," Vector quickly slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses. "…spicy."

Espio and Charmy stared at their boss, an awkward silence settling over the group. Finally, Charmy spoke up. "Uhh boss, why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?"

"No time for questions! Let's go!" Vector grabbed hold of his two teammates and dashed out of the restaurant just as one of the waiters walked up to the table.

"Wait!" the waiter shouted. "You forgot to pay for your meal!"

**VvVvVvV**

Shadow and Rouge arrived at Eggman's base a little while later. Amy and Tails were already there, looking around for any clues, while Eggman supervised. The two agents approached the evil doctor.

"When did the thief strike?" Shadow asked.

"Not long ago, maybe twenty minutes." The doctor said.

Rouge nodded. "And in broad daylight. He's bold, that's for sure."

Shadow nodded and Rouge asked, "Were you able to get a good look at the thief?"

"He was wearing a dark trench coat, but by his build he was a Mobian." Eggman told them, "I didn't get a good look at his face, but he was wearing red sunglasses."

"That's new." Rouge observed. "The kid didn't mention him wearing sunglasses." Rouge turned towards the young fox. "Tails! Do you remember the thief having red sunglasses?"

Tails thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It was really dark, but he may have been wearing them. I couldn't tell."

Rouge nodded and turned back towards the evil doctor. "On to other matters… what was it that the thief stole?"

Eggman bared his teeth. "A Chaos Emerald."

* * *

**SORRY ABOUT THE LONG WAIT!**

**I started this chapter a long time ago, but lost inspiration, got caught up in exams, and had some computer problems. Oh well, it's here now! I hope you enjoyed.**

**For anyone who cares, I have a new poll on my profile. Vote if you'd like!**


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